Pages

Thursday, April 02, 2009

R. Berel Wein and R. Herschel Schachter remind us that obedience to a commandment or halacha requires selfless sacrifice, even if it appears devoid of logic to us and that we should always remember that Moshe Rabbeinu to whom God appeared , revealed Himself and gave a system of mitzvos, to which “Lifnim Mshuras HaDin” applies if one is going in th same direction as the halacha, as opposed to acting contrary to the halacha: link 1, link 2

R. Yissocher Frand urges us to follow the model of both proper intent and action, even if it costs a considerable sum, in performing a mitzvah: link

R. Jonathan Sacks explains the centrality of Sefer Vayikra, explores various hashkafic approaches to korbanos, and how prayer can serve as a substitute for a korban simply by negating our will in favor of the Divine Will: link

R. Aharon Lichtenstein explains why a Kohen who was not prepared to clean the ashes was not worthy of offering a sacrifice: link

The korban Olah

The Nesivos Shalom, as elucidated by R. Yitzchak Adlerstein, suggests that we emulate the halachos, aim and purpose of the korban Olah in our study of Torah and Tefilah as a means of battling thoughts of sin that weaken us and bind us to evil: link

The Seven Days of Consecration

R. Aharon Lichtenstein suggests that the schism between the role of a Kohen and Prophet required the participation of Moshe Rabbeinu in the consecration process and that we try to fuse our personalities with the elements of a Kohen and Prophet, not just in the Beis Medrash, but also in our everyday lives: link

The Relevance of the Sacrificial Order Today

R. Ephraim Buchwald, based on Hosea 14:3, underscores the importance of Tefilah and Torah study as means of resurrecting the Beis HaMikdash: link

Shabbos HaGadol

R. Mayer Twersky reminds us that we call this Shabbos “HaGadol” to distinguish it from Chag HaMatzos because it is the greatest and holiest day of the Jewish calendar: link

R. Shlomo Riskin explains why the Haftarah of Shabbos HaGadol is understood as mandating the presence of Eliyahu HaNavi who will herald the arrival of the Redemption of the Jewish People: link